The invention is more particularly targeted at taps which have to meet the strictest safety criteria and which need to be easily operable such as, for example, taps for gas bottles used in the hospital environment. For safety reasons, it is desirable for the closure member of these taps to be arranged in such a way that it is urged in the direction of closure by the pressure of the gas. This means, however, that in order to open the tap, it is necessary to overcome the force exerted by the pressure of the gas on the closure member. The force required to open the tap can thus become very high when the pressure of the gas in the bottle is high. Put another way, the ease of operation and the very strict safety rules are not always criteria that can be readily reconciled.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel gas tap, especially for high-pressure bottles, which is readily operable and which meets the strictest safety criteria.